NBA EZ Pick Preview 03/13/19

Stephen Curry vs Russell Westbrook

Stephen Curry hit just 6-of-20 shots and 4-of-15 3-pointers for 18 points, seven rebounds, eight assists, three steals and a block in 35 minutes of Sunday’s ugly 115-111 home loss to the Suns. Curry, Kevin Durant (who left with an ankle injury) and Klay Thompson combined to hit just 9-of-34 shots from downtown, and the Warriors were just 10-of-43 from 3-point land as a team. They’ve lost six of their last 10 games, and a home loss to the Suns is not what the doctor ordered. GSW has a big game on Wednesday at Houston, and it will be interesting to see how they fare in that one. Regardless of their recent struggles, the Warriors are still the No. 1 seed in the West, holding a 1.5 game lead over the Nuggets.

Bradley Beal vs Devin Booker

Bradley Beal nearly triple-doubled in a 121-115 win over the Kings on Monday, scoring 27 points with nine rebounds and nine assists. He also recorded four steals with three triples, hitting 9-of-20 from the field and 6-of-8 from the line. It’s a fantastic start to the week from Beal and his fantasy owners will continue to benefit from one of the best remaining schedules in the NBA — the Wizards play three more times this week and follow that up with two straight weeks of four games each. He’ll be locked in as a top-10 fantasy asset as long as his team is in striking distance of the No. 8 seed.

Devin Booker hit 13-of-23 shots, two 3-pointers and 9-of-9 free throws on his way to 37 points, eight rebounds, 11 assists and two steals in 41 minutes of Sunday’s 115-111 win over the Warriors in Oracle Arena. Booker was awesome and took over the game in the fourth quarter, helping the Suns snap an 18-game, five-year losing streak against the Warriors. The Suns have won five of their last seven games, and have now beaten both the Bucks and the Warriors in the past week. And despite all of that goodness, the Suns are still just 16-52 on the season, trailing only the Knicks for the league’s worst record.

Andre Drummond vs Nikola Vucevic

Andre Drummond reached the 20-rebound mark for the 15th time this season Monday, as he accounted for 20 rebounds, 13 points (5-of-14 FGs, 3-of-4 FTs), three assists and one steal. Drummond could have put up an even higher rebound total if the outcome were in doubt, as he and the rest of the Pistons starters sat for much of the fourth quarter in the 103-75 loss to the Nets. The seventh-year center has grabbed 20 or more boards in two of his last three games, and over the last five he’s averaging 19.0 points, 18.2 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.0 blocks per game while shooting 57.1% from the field, 33.3% from three and 64.7% from the foul line.

Nikola Vucevic led the Magic with 26 points and 10 rebounds on Sunday against the Grizzlies. The Magic have outscored opponents by 2.9 points per 100 possessions with Nikola Vucevic on the floor this season. When Vucevic is on the bench, Orlando gets outscored by 5.9 points per 100 possessions.

Donovan Mitchell vs D’Angelo Russell

Donovan Mitchell hit 8-of-22 shots and 6-of-8 free throws in Monday’s 98-89 loss to the Thunder. This was a monster line from Mitchell, as he racked up five assists, four rebounds, five steals, one block and three triples in 37 minutes. Mitchell has put his slow start to the season well behind him and looks like the player who helped knock out this OKC team from the playoffs last season. He’s averaging just under 30 points per game for the past month and is peaking for the fantasy playoffs.

D’Angelo Russell played 24 minutes Monday vs. the Pistons, finishing with 11 points (5-of-13 FGs), seven assists, three rebounds, two steals, one blocked shot and one three-pointer. Russell did not have his best night scoring-wise, but he did tally seven assists and help lead the Nets to a 28-point win over the Pistons in Brooklyn. The fourth-year point guard is shooting just 39.0% from the field, 30.6% from three and 46.2% from the foul line over his last five games, which is a bit of an issue for those who have him on their rosters. However, given how well the All-Star guard has played throughout the entire season it’s fair to assume that this slump will come to an end soon enough. And even with the shooting issues Russell has been a top-100 player over the last month.

DeMarcus Cousins vs Hassan Whiteside

DeMarcus Cousins tallied 13 points (5-11 FG, 0-3 3Pt, 3-3 FT), five rebounds, two assists and two blocks across 28 minutes in the Warriors’ 115-111 loss to the Suns on Sunday.

Hassan Whiteside is averaging 12.8 points and 12.1 rebounds for the Heat.

Chris Paul vs Klay Thompson

Klay Thompson hit 10-of-22 shots and 4-of-15 3-pointers for 28 points, five rebounds, five assists, three steals and a block in 36 minutes of Sunday’s 115-111 loss to the Suns at Oracle Arena. Thompson had a great night everywhere but from beyond the arc, and the Warriors’ poor 3-point shooting as a team is a big reason they lost this game. The loss snapped an 18-game, five-year winning streak over the Suns, and the Warriors will look to rebound on Wednesday with a big game at Houston.

Josh Richardson vs Spencer Dinwiddie

Josh Richardson couldn’t get anything going during Sunday’s blowout loss to the Raptors, finishing with just eight points, two rebounds, three assists, one steal and one turnover over 26 minutes. Richardson (right hamstring soreness) will play Wednesday against the Pistons. He has been expected to play since earlier this afternoon. This isn’t a back-to-back set and it’s one of the biggest games left on the schedule, so expect J-Rich to get close to a full workload, especially getting the green light before warmups are over. Get him in your lineups.

Spencer Dinwiddie shot 5-of-11 from the field and 7-of-7 from the foul line in Monday’s win over the Pistons, scoring 19 points with two rebounds, two assists and two 3-pointers. Dinwiddie was one of seven Nets to score in double figures in Brooklyn’s 28-point win, and he’s scored 15 points or more in five of the six games he’s played in since returning from a thumb injury. During this stretch, the backup guard is averaging 18.4 points, 5.0 assists and 2.6 rebounds per game with shooting splits of 45.6/33.3/72.4.

Goran Dragic vs Evan Fournier

Goran Dragic scored 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting (2-of-4 from the line) Sunday, to go with one 3-pointer, four rebounds, three assists and two turnovers in 21 minutes off the bench.

Evan Fournier was ejected early on Sunday, scoring zero points in 14 minutes with 0-of-4 shooting, three rebounds, one assist and one steal. Wes Iwundu took over for Fournier after his ejection, with Terrence Ross (28 minutes) also chipping in to balance the load. Fournier came in averaging 3.0 triples in March, with enough steals and points to justify playing him in most fantasy formats. This was a brutal outcome but the good typically outweighs the bad, giving him mild appeal as a source of scoring, threes, assists and FT%.

Trevor Ariza vs Justin Holiday

Trevor Ariza totaled 11 points (5-14 FG, 1-7 3Pt), 10 rebounds and three assists across 37 minutes in the Wizards’ win over the Kings on Monday.

The Grizzlies have one of the best matchups of the day vs. the Atlanta Hawks, which makes Justin Holiday an interesting target.